Wedding Planning
by shiiki
Summary: Planning a wedding is more difficult than Annabeth realised. Fortunately her friends have some tricks up their sleeves. CoL-verse companion piece. Could stand alone, but a few small references won't make sense unless you've read Curse of Lethe.


**Summary** : Planning a wedding is more difficult than Annabeth realised. Fortunately her friends have some tricks up their sleeves.

 **A/N** : This is a for a long overdue request from **heyimafangirl** , who wanted ' _i was wondering if you can make another part [to CoL] where percy pops the question and him and annabeth and all their friends plan the wedding and they have twins, a boy and girl!_ ' I already did _The Best Underwater Proposal_ previously, so that covers popping the question, and I started off with the twins fic first (' _Twins_ ', which I'm cross-posting only now with this one), but it took me ages to finally do this one, mostly because I am absolutely clueless about wedding planning. However, my friend recently got engaged and after having tea with her and listening to her talk about her wedding plans, I finally had what I needed to write this fic.

This is set in the CoL universe, so although most of it can stand alone, there are a lot of little references that won't make sense unless you've read _The Curse of Lethe._

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 **Wedding Plans**

(A _Curse of Lethe_ companion piece)

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Annabeth loved plans. She was good at plans. She drew up plans everyday at work.

As such, she'd been confident that planning a wedding would be a cinch. Surely it couldn't take her more than a month! So in true demigod fashion, once she and Percy had decided on a summer wedding, she'd filed the specifics away in a corner of her mind until the date loomed closer. When she finally applied herself to the task, she'd thought it'd be a nice treat, a break from her usual work. It would be fun, getting to draw up plans for a simple, elegant wedding to the man of her dreams. Easy, right?

That was when she realised wedding planning was like fighting a hydra. You didn't realise just how many heads you had to battle until you started slicing them off.

Every time she ticked an item off her list, another would pop up. Had she considered venues and their capacities, seating arrangements, décor choices … even the guest list, which should have been the easiest of all, came with a bunch of politics she hadn't given a second thought before. None of this stuff had even been on her mind when she said _yes_ to Percy.

Even when she tried making a spreadsheet to organise everything, she ended up with so many tabs on her laptop that it reminded her of the maps she'd studied before her quest in the Labyrinth.

And her ADHD was _not_ helping one bit. She kept getting lost in one detail and forgetting about the rest. Until it came hammering into her mind, demanding attention.

'You need help,' Percy said one night. He lifted a curl of hair off her tired forehead, which she was resting against the back of her folded hands.

Annabeth lifted her head and reached for her mug of coffee. 'I can do this. I'm the planner, remember?'

Percy caught her hand and moved the mug away. 'You're chugging coffee at two in the morning. I haven't seen you this frazzled since we were cramming for college finals!'

'Well, unless you want to postpone the wedding, I have to get all this sorted yesterday! The invitations need to go out, I need to book a venue, and I haven't even worked out—'

'Which is why you need help.'

'Percy, I love you, but I don't think you're going to be much help. You're hopeless at this sort of thing.'

'I know. But don't worry. I have a plan.'

She scrunched up her forehead. 'I hate it when you say that. It usually ends in us running for our lives or being covered in sewage. Neither of which better happen at our wedding.'

Percy tugged on her loose curls. 'You of little faith. Trust me. And come to bed. My feet are cold without you there.'

'So _that's_ why you're marrying me.'

'Absolutely.'

Laughing, she let Percy guide her back to their bedroom.

OoOoO

The next evening, Piper breezed through their front door like one of her boyfriend's storm spirit stallions.

'Why didn't you call us sooner?' she scolded, plopping herself down at Annabeth's worktable.

'Hi Annabeth.' Hazel came in behind Piper, smiling warmly.

'Percy called you?' Annabeth said.

Percy shrugged. 'I brought in the big guns.'

'Seriously? I mean, I'm always glad to see you, but … you two? Wedding planning? It's just—Piper, you hate plans! And this …' She flipped open her laptop and brought up the last email the bridal boutique had sent her, with its endless attachments and list of selections they wanted an answer on. She hadn't realised that even a choice of accessories could be such an arduous process.

'I can do jewellery,' Hazel pointed out.

'Yes, but … dresses and flower arrangements and—'

'And I'm a child of Aphrodite,' Piper reminded her. 'I may not _like_ this stuff, but I'm perfectly capable of handling it. And besides, I know we're not the only ones who'll want to help. We're just—well, call us the front guard. Now let's look at what you've got.'

Annabeth pulled up her spreadsheet and the others gathered around to look.

'Oh my,' Hazel said, pulling a face. 'You do need help.'

'That's just the venue,' Annabeth said, pointing to a map where she'd dropped half a dozen pins. 'I was stuck between San Francisco and New York as a location. I mean, our families are in one or the other, which means someone would need to travel, so I thought maybe someplace neutral, like the middle of the country, might be better, but I really wanted a place that _meant_ something, you know?'

'Hmm,' Piper said. 'I have an idea. But what's that?' She pointed to the tab that said _guests._

'It's _supposed_ to be the guest list. But I haven't filled it in yet.' Annabeth pulled out a sheet of paper instead, filled with names: some crossed out, some circled, some circled, some with little question marks over them. Little arrows criss-crossed the page, linking each name to a dozen others.

Percy's jaw dropped. 'Do we really need to invite that many people? Like, do we even _know_ that many people?'

Annabeth pushed her hair behind her ears. 'If it were up to me, there's only about twenty-five people I'd really want to be there.'

' _Isn't_ it up to us? It's our wedding.'

'Yes, but could you really invite, say, your dad, without sending an invite to Zeus? And we may not know that many people, but people know _us,_ and—'

'Annabeth's right,' Hazel said. 'You're heroes of Olympus. Your wedding's been the talk of Camp Jupiter since you got engaged. Everyone's dying to get an invite.'

'That's messed up,' Percy said.

'You do know half of Camp Half-Blood has had betting pools running on you guys for the last ten years?' Piper said. She thought for a moment. 'I think Julia Feingold's the bookie now.'

Percy shook her head. 'That's frightening.' His eyes fell on one name Annabeth had written under the heading 'gods', and widened. She'd started to cross it out, but her pen had hesitated halfway such that the line stopped at _E_.

' _Hera?_ Tell me it's just my dyslexia reading that wrong. I thought you hated her.'

'I do. But …' Annabeth twisted her engagement ring around her finger. Her thin, adamantine band that was Percy's promise of something permanent. She wasn't about to let anything get in the way of that promise. 'She's the goddess of marriage. Normally, I wouldn't care about offending her, but I am _not_ giving her an excuse to—to spirit you away with no memory in the middle of our honeymoon or something.'

'It's not just Hera,' Piper said. 'When it comes to the gods, wedding invitations are no joke. You don't really want to end up responsible for the second Trojan War or something.'

Percy made a face. 'Please tell me we aren't inviting Eris.'

Annabeth's lips twitched. 'After what you did to her in Tartarus, I don't think she'd come anyway.'

'But the other gods …' Piper mused. 'I hate to say this, but my mom has a history of messing with couples who leave her out of things.'

'We know,' Annabeth and Percy said in unison. They shared a wry smile. Aphrodite had been way too involved in their relationship from the very beginning. Annabeth had no intention of giving her (or any of the gods) more fodder.

She sighed. 'We'll have to invite them all. Though Olympus knows we might have to book out the entire Field of Mars to accommodate everyone.'

'Unless …' A gleam came into Hazel's eyes. Annabeth, Percy, and Piper all looked at her expectantly. 'I have an idea, but I don't know if …' She bit her lip, then nodded resolutely. 'I think I can do it. Leave the guest list to me, Annabeth. I promise I'll work it out.'

'Leave it all to _us,_ ' Piper corrected.

'But—you want to plan our whole wedding? Are you sure?'

Hazel put her hand over Annabeth's. 'Your wedding is about you and Percy. That's all you should be thinking about. You shouldn't have to stress out over all the little details. Please, let us do this for you.'

The offer was too good to resist. She could focus on what was really important—her, and the amazing man she was going to marry. Not invitations and party favours and all the other minutiae that had somehow crept into the bargain.

And if there was anyone besides Percy she could trust to have her back, it was Piper and Hazel.

'All right,' she said. 'Thank you.'

Both girls brushed off her thanks. Piper issued a stern command to go take a break and immediately took control of Annabeth's spreadsheets, already behaving like the general of her little wedding army.

'See?' said Percy. 'It's all in good hands. And now you're going to come out with me and have a real coffee break.'

'Okay,' she said. 'But there _is_ one detail we should handle ourselves …'

OoOoO

It was quite disconcerting, going into your wedding day without knowing what to expect. The closer they'd got to the day, the more secretive Piper and Hazel had become about their plans. All Annabeth knew was that the girls would collect her and Percy early in the morning and whisk them to their wedding venue—wherever _that_ was.

Oh, and that _all_ their friends were somehow in on the secret by now.

When the doorbell rang, she'd expected Piper and Hazel. Instead, three dashing groomsmen had turned up. Dressed in matching tuxedos, Jason, Frank, and Leo also wore identical broad grins on their faces as they escorted Percy and Annabeth onto a massively expanded Festusmobile. Leo's versatile dragon was decked out like a cruise ship with retractable wheels, very much like the amphibious vehicle form it had taken years ago when their friends had travelled to Hawaii to rescue them from Tartarus.

Leo patted the dragon's head. 'Final trip for today, old friend. You know the way.'

Festus blew a cloud of steam into the air and they took off westward.

'Are you guys gonna tell us _where_ we're going at some point?' Percy asked.

Frank opened his mouth, but Jason shot him a warning look. 'Piper,' he said, and Frank winced.

'Sorry, man. Girls made us promise.'

'Scared of your girlfriends?' Percy teased.

'You're one to talk. Like you're _not_ scared of Annabeth?'

'Terrified,' Percy agreed, with a wink at her.

'Dude,' Leo said, ' _everyone's_ scared of Annabeth.'

'Which is exactly as it should be,' said a crisp voice. 'How else would we keep you boys in line?'

'Reyna!' Annabeth hugged her friend. Reyna looked stunning in a silver dress and matching tiara that accentuated her dark hair. 'What are you doing here? Where's Piper and Hazel?'

'Setting up. You'll see them soon,' Reyna promised. 'Meanwhile, I've been given the very important task of getting _you_ ready.' She shot the men the steely gaze she'd perfected in her years as praetor of New Rome. 'And you three have a groom to prepare.'

Leo saluted. 'Yes, ma'am.'

Reyna rolled her eyes and led Annabeth into the interior of the Festusmobile. One of the cabins had been converted into a dressing room. Hanging on the wall was a white silk gown with silver lace trim and the most intricately woven bodice Annabeth had ever seen. Tiny owls made a border above a rippling wave pattern, as if they were actually flying above water. Annabeth wouldn't have thought it humanly possible to weave a dress so delicately beautiful.

'Is this …'

'Woven by your mom herself,' Reyna said, nodding. 'Thalia asked her for a favour.'

'Wow.' Annabeth could barely believe it. She wouldn't have even dared to ask Athena for something as precious as this. And the owls over the water …

Tears sprung to her eyes. Her mother had never been the most supportive of her relationship with Percy, but this … she was sure it was Athena's blessing.

Reyna indicated a chair and picked up a hairbrush from the gilded dressing table in front of it. 'Take a seat,' she said. 'I haven't done this in years, but I still remember my training from the spa.'

Annabeth grinned. Few people would have guessed that Reyna had these skills, but of course she'd actually been the first of all their friends to ever give Annabeth a makeover. She took a seat and put herself in Reyna's capable hands.

OoOoO

Reyna wouldn't let her leave the Festusmobile until everyone else had disembarked. When Annabeth stepped off the amphi-vehicle onto the island of soft white sand and swaying palm trees, she gasped.

'Hawaii?'

'Welcome to Kilauea.' Thalia was waiting for them on the beach. For once, she'd swapped her usual black leather jacket for a silver dress similar to Reyna's. In her hands was a bouquet of blue flowers. 'Or I should say, welcome back.'

'A neutral place … that means something …' Annabeth's eyes were filling up again. Of course. She should have guessed.

'Nico got in touch with Bob and Damasen. They were only too happy to supply their garden for the occasion,' Thalia explained. She handed the bouquet to Annabeth, who peered inside with awe. Forget-me-nots. Not only did the flowers' shade complement her silver-and-white gown, the symbolism was perfectly apt.

'Calypso picked them,' Thalia said. 'She did all the flowers, actually.' She jerked her head towards the edge of the beach, where brilliant blooms lined a lush, grassy path towards a stone arch.

Annabeth could barely contain the emotions swelling in her chest as they walked up to Bob and Damasen's garden. It was set on a low cliff, overlooking the ocean. Someone—probably Tyson, judging from the design—had wrought a series of marble arches from the garden entrance to the start of a carpeted aisle between two rows of seats. Clematis vines wrapped around the circular columns, creeping up to the intricately-carved infinity symbol at the top. A pair of golden eagles formed an honour guard overhead, most likely Jason's contribution.

Everywhere she looked, there were more signs of their friends and families' efforts. Behind the seats, a reception area had been set up with a towering blue layer cake that was obviously Sally's handiwork. The hand-painted placeholders on the bistro tables could only have been drawn by Rachel. She guessed that the soft lyre and pan-pipe music had been a joint effort by Will and Grover.

The seats between the final arch and the altar were filled, but to Annabeth's surprise, there were only about twenty-five guests—the ones she'd told Piper she most cared to have with them for the occasion.

There were their families—Sally and Paul waved from the front row, while little Estelle stood next to Percy at the last arch, proudly bearing a flower basket. Annabeth's dad and stepmother were smiling widely, and her stepbrothers gave her thumbs-ups. Her cousin Magnus had brought his partner Alex (Annabeth thought he was male today, though it was hard to be sure), and Tyson was clapping unreservedly from his seat next to his harpy girlfriend Ella, whose wings whirred like an excited hummingbird's.

What stunned Annabeth was the sight of her mother, solemn and regal as always, but with unusual warmth in her expression as she watched her daughter approach. Sitting next to her was a handsome man with a tanned, weather-beaten face, a thick beard, and a Percy-like twinkle in his eyes. Poseidon, god of the sea and Athena's long-standing rival … except they had clearly called a truce for the occasion.

And then all Annabeth's dearest friends had turned up, too. Chiron was behind the altar, taking the position of officiant. Grover stood up front as Percy's best man. Jason, Frank, and Leo had taken their seats, and there were Nico and Will, and Rachel, and Calypso, and Bob and Damasen, all grinning from ear to ear … and of course, Piper and Hazel, who greeted her at the first arch.

'What happened to not offending any of the gods?' Annabeth asked, gesturing to the audience.

'Oh, we invited everyone,' Hazel said. 'Just to a different wedding.'

She waved her hand proudly. A hazy image appeared in front of them for a few seconds. Annabeth had the surreal experience of watching herself in her bridal gown, walking through a packed field like she was navigating a catwalk at a sell-out concert.

'I created a Mist wedding in the Field of Mars. That's where everyone else is. They'll _think_ they've watched you two get married, and I guess technically they _are_ in attendance at your wedding, but you also get to have it in private … just like you wanted.'

'Clarisse is keeping them in line there,' said Piper. 'That's why she isn't here, but she said to throw you guys in the ocean for her when it's all over.' Her eyes gleamed.

Hazel shook her head at Piper. To Annabeth, she said, 'Come on. Let's not keep Percy waiting.'

The four girls walked Annabeth to the start of the aisle, where Percy and Estelle were standing. Each gave her a kiss on the cheek, then went to take their seats. Percy gave Estelle a nod and she started down the aisle—a blue-carpeted affair—throwing out flowers to either side.

Annabeth looked through the arch, down the blue aisle to the altar where Chiron stood patiently. 'Shouldn't you be up there?'

'Traditionally, yes. But I got Tyson to let slip some of the plans,' Percy admitted. 'And I told them to leave this last bit up to me.'

'Okay. So how are we doing this?'

Percy took her hand. 'I thought we'd walk in together. Unless you really want your dad, or your mom to—I mean, I just thought … well, we always went into everything together. I didn't feel right just standing at the end, like you were coming to me. I want to walk with you every step of the way for the rest of our lives.'

If her heart swelled any more, Annabeth thought it might just burst out of her chest. 'Are those your vows, Percy Jackson?'

'Er, not exactly. But … it's kind of the same theme.'

Annabeth squeezed his hand. 'It's perfect.'

'I told you I had a plan.'

Annabeth kissed him. It was the wrong order of things, but she didn't care. 'Do you have the rings?'

'In my pocket.'

She reached over and brought out the twin bands they had designed together—the one detail she had wanted to keep for themselves. She took his hand and slid his ring on; he slipped hers onto her finger. They held hands again, fingers entwining so that the rings met, interlocking to form an infinity symbol like the one carved into the marble arch above their head.

And together, they walked down the aisle to the altar and the rest of their lives.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : Okay, so I know wedding fic is probably overdone and super cliché, but I hope I've included at least _some_ details that aren't the same old stuff!

Hazel's Mist-wedding idea is in part inspired by the short story, _Stars Above_ by Marissa Meyer (which again, is wedding-themed and features a 'surprise' wedding).

And a little note on the flower choices … clematis is a climbing plant that represents loyalty, courage, and intellect according to the site I found. And forget-me-nots … well, the same site tells of the myth of two lovers strolling along the Danube River, where one fell in and was taken by the current, but told his sweetheart not to forget him. Seemed appropriate for _CoL-verse_ fic!

There is a second part to this that I'm posting today as well, called 'Twins', which is a continuation of the same prompt.

Also, I just made a forum! The link is in my profile, so if you want to go and see what I'm working on, chat, or whatever, do drop by! If not, I'm going to say pretty please, if you're going to pick one time to hit that review button if you enjoyed reading, do it today, because I am having an utterly miserable week and could do with some cheering up.


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